The brother of a boxer who had just been awarded a technical knockout punched the trainer of a rival fighter during a chaotic melee in the ring following a televised bout at the Sydney Arena on Wednesday.
Michael Zerafa received the TKO win after his opponent, Tommy Browne, quit after the first round of the catchweight bout due to a bicep injury.
Zerafa was not happy with his rival retiring, and yelled: “You quit” when Browne remained on his stool after the second round was set to start.
Photo: AP
That triggered a heated argument between Zerafa and Browne’s trainer, Tommy Mercuri.
Then Zerafa’s brother and cornerman, Jason-Manuel Zerafa, entered the ring, moved around behind an official and threw a punch at the side of Mercuri’s head before retreating back behind the boxer.
Jason-Manuel Zerafa was escorted from the arena.
Australian Associated Press later reported that he had been charged by police with assault.
“About 10pm [on Wednesday] police were patrolling a sporting event ... when a 26-year-old man assaulted a 60-year-old man during the event,” New South Wales police said in a statement. “Officers intervened and went to the assistance of the older man, who suffered minor injuries which did not require treatment.”
Jason-Manuel Zerafa was also banned for life by the fight’s promoters.
“He will be barred from attending all No Limit Boxing events in future,” the promoters said in a statement, adding that the provincial Combat Sports Authority of New South Wales “have been informed of the decision ahead of any additional disciplinary action they may elect to proceed with.”
Retired American boxer Shawn Porter, a two-time former world welterweight champion who was providing television commentary of the fight, said the post-bout altercation in the ring was “unacceptable.”
“If Michael knows his brother has the ability to do that ... he shouldn’t be in his corner,” Porter said.
Main Event commentator and boxing analyst Peter Badel said that Jason-Manuel Zerafa should not be allowed to attend future events.
“I don’t think his brother should be involved in boxing again,” Badel said. “That was disgraceful.”
In the pre-fight week, Browne accused Michael Zerafa of quitting in his previous bout, a second-round knockout loss to WBA middleweight world champion ErIslandy Lara in March.
RECORD DEFEAT: The Shanghai-based ‘Oriental Sports Daily’ said the drubbing was so disastrous, and taste so bitter, that all that is left is ‘numbness’ Chinese soccer fans and media rounded on the national team yesterday after they experienced fresh humiliation in a 7-0 thrashing to rivals Japan in their opening Group C match in the third phase of Asian qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The humiliation in Saitama on Thursday against Asia’s top-ranked team was China’s worst defeat in World Cup qualifying and only a goal short of their record 8-0 loss to Brazil in 2012. Chinese President Xi Jinping once said he wanted China to host and even win the World Cup one day, but that ambition looked further away than ever after a
Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
Former Formosa Dreamers player Ilkan Karaman was killed in a traffic accident in Datca, Turkey, Turkish media reported yesterday. He was 34. The former Turkish national team player was reportedly hit by a car, the driver of which was allegedly drunk, while he was standing on a sidewalk, Turkish newspaper Sozcu reported. Karaman and his friends were on their way to the beach town of Dalaman to go scuba diving when they stopped at a gas station to buy gasoline, it reported. Karaman was hit by the car while waiting on a sidewalk as his friends were buying gasoline, it
ANKLE PROBLEM: Taiwan’s Ye Hong-wei and Lee Chia-hsin had a disappointing end to their tournament after an injury forced them out of their mixed doubles semi-final Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying on Friday was knocked out in the women’s singles quarter-finals at her last Taipei Open. The world No. 3 lost 21-18, 16-21, 22-24 to Putri Kusuma Wardani of Indonesia in a match that stretched 68 minutes at the Taipei Arena. Despite her higher ranking, Tai said she was not too sad about the loss, given her struggle with a lingering knee injury. “Wins and losses are just part of the game. Actually, I think I’m going to lose every single match considering my condition now,” said the five-time champion of the Super 300 event, who has announced plans
RSS